Hot Dog

Hot DoG

USA PREMEIRE, THINKING CAP THEATRE, FLORIDA

"It was shit, so I shit in it."

Maryanne, a long-suffering daughter fed up with caring for her very demanding, elderly mother, who's literally become "the Dog" next door. Desperate for a new leash on life, Maryanne recruits her sister, Carol, to return home and take over. What ensues is a funny, disturbing, and thought provoking exploration of family dynamics and what it means to give and receive care.

Assistant Lighting Design Calypso Hernandez

Scenic Design Chas Collins

Projection Design Cat Del Buono

Sound Design David Hart & Nicole Stodard

Costume & Properties Chas Collins & Nicole Stodard

Light Board Operation Desiree Mora

Projection Board Operation AJ Calaluca

Sound Board Operation Andy Gilbert

Run Crew Toby Barton & Mariah Busk

House Management Desiree Mora

Box Office Amy London & Elizabeth Thomas

Photography Elizabeth Thomas

Cover Art Donna Sanna

Founded in 2010, Thinking Cap Theatre (TCT) is a non-profit, Fort Lauderdale-based theatre company devoted to presenting experimental, provocative, and socially-conscious plays. TCT is also committed to presenting works that depict a range of identities more reflective of today's society; to dismantling norms and stereotypes through non-reactionary, honest means; and to freshly presenting both well-known and rarely-staged classical plays.

PERFORMANCE HISTORY:

Descent with The Last Refuge, London, 12 - 17 March 2013

Hot Dog is published by Playdead Press and available for purchase on Amazon and Theatre booksellers.

CAST

The Dog Tessa Hatts

Maryanne Penny Lisle

Carol Rebecca Crankshaw

Michael Ryan Anthony-Jones

UK PREMEIRE, the last refuge, london

"She pissed on me. Actual dirty yellow piss. I'm not overreacting on this one. My Mother should not pee on me!"

Meet Maryanne’s mother: The Dog.

After years as her mother’s carer, Maryanne finally has a way out, leaving her sister Carol to take over. But the Dog has other ideas. Determined to force Maryanne to stay, the Dog is out of control. How much will the sisters put up with before something must be done? Set in small town America, Hot Dog is a black comedy about old loyalties, new beginnings and losing sight of our humanity.

Under Stodard’s direction, the actors illuminate the realities and complexities of care giving, here taken to extremes in Kosar’s toxic setup.

[Hot Dog] is a truly fine production that deserves to be widely seen.

As the name of the production company suggests, you need to put your "thinking cap" on to come to grips with this disturbing and provocative play.

Around Town Newspaper

Hot Dog, a tart and quirky black (well, dark brown) comedy from London of the type so beloved by the Brits – iconoclastic, freewheeling, eccentric.

Hot Dog was penned by a young American ex-patriate with what looks like an important future ahead of her.

Playwright Sarah Kosar doesn’t fool around. We are immediately privy to conversation about … poo. A perfectly sensible tete-a-tete, only one of the “tetes” is a human being in the guise of a dog. Kosar gets you by the lapels.

Is it supposed to be a dog acting doglike or a human pretending to be a dog? The genius of the play is that the answer is left to the audience.

UK PRESS

THIS FLEDGLING COMPANY’S COMMITMENT AND PROFESSIONALISM IS AS LAUDABLE AS THEIR TASTE IN NEW WRITING. THE FOUR ACTORS ARE IMMACULATELY CAST BY DIRECTOR FAYE MERRALLS, WHO ALSO HANDLES THE DRAMA WITH CONFIDENCE, PACE AND WIT: IT’S RARE TO FIND SUCH A STRONG SHOW SO FAR OUT ON THE FRINGE.ONE STOP ARTS

SIMULTANEOUSLY FUNNY AND THOUGHT PROVOKING, THIS SHOW WILL STAY WITH YOU LONG INTO THE EVENING […] HOT DOG IS A STRIKING PIECE OF NEW WRITING WHICH SKILFULLY TACKLES QUESTIONS OF AGEING, ILLNESS AND HUMANITY WITH CONSISTENTLY DARK BUT ON-THE-MARK HUMOUR.EVERYTHING THEATRE

A THOUGHT PROVOKING BLACK COMEDY […] GRAB THIS PLAY BEFORE YOU MISS OUT. YOU WON’T BE DISAPPOINTED.FEMALE ARTS

SARAH KOSAR IS A PLAYWRIGHT TO WATCH OUT FOR, HER ALREADY POWERFUL PEN BOUND TO SHARPEN INTO A CAUSTIC, PRODDING INSTRUMENT […] HOT DOG MAKES FOR A GREAT SURREALISTIC THEATRE EXPERIENCE.WHAT’S PEEN SEEN

IN THE VEIN OF TRUE BLACK COMEDY, I ENDED UP AMUSED WITHOUT LAUGHING AT THE CLEVER SCRIPT’S PUNNING AND VIVIFICATION OF FAMILIAR YET MUNDANE IRONIC RELATIONS BETWEEN FAMILIES. […] A PLAY THAT LEAVES A LASTING AND INTERESTING IMPRESSION.BARGAIN THEATRE